by Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

by Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

Gravity didn't go down without a fight, but it was no match for a cranky grandpa struggling with his own forces of nature.

Despite a strong performance in its fourth week of release, the sci-fi thriller fell to Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, which supplanted the Sandra Bullock film after nearly a month at No. 1.

The fourth chapter of the Johnny Knoxville hidden-camera series collared $32 million, according to studio estimates from Rentrak.

The debut eclipsed most projections, which hovered around $25 million.

Despite the R-rated movie's raunchy humor, critics and fans fell for the prank premise. About 61% of critics gave it a thumbs-up, according to Rottentomatoes.com, while moviegoers gave it a collective B grade, says pollsters Cinemascore.

Ray Subers of Box Office Mojo says that, for nearly two months, audiences have been craving good humor.

"The marketplace is wide open for a comedy hit," he says. "There hasn't been one since August's We're The Millers," which did $148 million.

Gravity, meanwhile, finally vacated the top spot at the box office for the first time since its release Oct. 4. Its haul of $20.3 million gave the film a second-place finish and overall revenues of $199.8 million.